Obama to host first White House Demo Day to fire up the startup spirit

Need some inspiration to fire up your startup project? Tomorrow, President Barack Obama is hosting the first-ever White House Demo Day, a showcase featuring several innovators who will share the backstories behind their successful projects.

As a proponent of tech and tapping into the startup spirit, Obama’s Demo Day is intended to encourage entrepreneurship for all.

According to the White House site, “Right now, too many Americans have the grit and creativity of a world-class entrepreneur, but not the resources — whether that’s mentorship, networking, funding or training — to make their ideas a reality. We can help change that.”

Unlike a regular pitch session, the Demo Day innovators will share their unique stories during the event, which will be broadcast tomorrow at whitehouse.gov/live at 3:40 p.m. ET/12:40 PT.

We know of one Pacific Northwest company that made it into the Demo Day presenters. Onboard Dynamics, based in Bend, Ore., will show “how their technology works to turn natural gas into affordable, alternative fuel for cars and trucks,” according to a company announcement via email.

Obama has been busy when it comes to tech and innovation. In June, the White House announced its “Startup in a Day” initiative, in which the administration is seeking ways to cut out “red tape” when it comes to starting a business. Seattle is one of the major cities participating in Startup in a Day, with the ultimate goal to create online tools that allow entrepreneurs to find and comply with regulations in one day.

Additionally, the White House held its first-ever Tech Meetup earlier this year, with Seattle-area techies Brett Greene and Red Russak, who helped launch the New Tech Seattle Meetup (originally the Seattle Tech Meetup) attending to help the White House understand the spirit of meetups and how to spur collaboration on tech-related projects.